


oh the things i'd do, i'll take care of you

by orangecrane



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Canon Era, Cuddling & Snuggling, M/M, Mentions of Frostbite/Hypothermia, this isnt realllly hurt/comfort, yeah he's here for a minute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:48:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26134474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orangecrane/pseuds/orangecrane
Summary: Race (ignoring Jack's explicit warning) goes out to sell right before a snowstorm hits and Albert takes it upon himself to take his dumbass back to the lodging house.
Relationships: Albert DaSilva/Racetrack Higgins
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	oh the things i'd do, i'll take care of you

**Author's Note:**

> This was requested by wasthemoonespeciallybright so thanks for the prompt and hope you like it! I was a little liberal in my interpretation so I hope that's ok. Also criticism is welcome- I know I need some improvement!

Race’s day was not going great, to say the least. The sky had been overcast all morning and Jack had warned him that it’d probably be snowing by midday, but did he listen? No. In his defense… okay he’s got nothing, he really should’ve listened to Jack. If he had maybe he wouldn’t be stuck in Brooklyn in what was quickly shaping up to be a proper snow storm while all the trolleys were shut down due to the weather. He’d have to make the entire journey back to Manhattan on foot and he really wasn’t looking forward to doing that.

However, he didn’t really have a choice. Thankfully he’d managed to sell almost all his paper before it really started coming down, no one would be buying anything now Race thought bitterly. He was starting to shake from the cold and his thin shirt and vest did very little to help. Not only that but his shoes were quickly proving to be a major issue as he trudged through the snow to the Brooklyn bridge. He’d known he needed a new pair for a while but he hadn’t realized quite the state of the shoes until now. There were lots of small holes throughout, they no longer laced tight enough to prevent snow from falling in the tops, and the soles were almost completely detached, only solidly against the shoes in the heel. His feet were absolutely soaked and painfully numb by the time he made it to the bridge.

He eyed the bridge warily, it wouldn’t exactly be safe to cross but it’d get even worse if he waited, and being stranded in Brooklyn with nowhere to go wasn’t an option. So he braced himself and began the trek. He nearly lost his footing a few times and the snow made it hard to see more than a few feet in front of him, but he made it in one piece. Barely. Though even just the thought of walking all the way back to the lodging house when he couldn’t feel anything but pain in his feet made Race want to curl up and sleep where he stood.

“Heya Racer, what took ya so long?” Oh thank goodness, even the sound of Albert’s voice never failed to improve Race’s day.

“Oh I just felt like takin’ my time, enjoy the view ya know? What’re you doin’ here Al?” Though Race was certainly glad to see him, it was definitely unusual for Albert to meet him at the bridge.

“Well someone told me that a certain dumbass decided to sell in Brooklyn today despite knowing that it was gonna snow and I had to come make sure that he made it home. Especially when most a’ the boys only sold the morning edition or came back early.” Albert spoke as if he were annoyed, but his grin showed he wasn’t really bothered. “Now lets get home, it's freezing and you look like you’re bouta shake outta your boots- Oh shit Racer, those are in bad shape, are they doin' anything to keep the snow out?” Albert asked, not even trying to hide his concern.

“Uh… not really, I can hardly feel my feet at all, might as well be out walkin’ barefoot.” Race answered sheepishly, he went to crack his knuckles but it was too cold and he was left awkwardly pressing against his fingers.

That did absolutely nothing to quell Albert’s worry for the blonde. Hypothermia was a real concern in the winter and if Racer wound up with frost-bitten feet it’d be bad news. And if the state Race appeared to be in was any indication, they had to get moving soon, Racer needed to get warmed up. “Well I don’t know about you Racer, but I’m heading back to the lodging house, do you need a ride?”

“Huh?”

“Sweetheart there is no way you’re walking all the way back, c’mon, I’ll carry you.” Albert wasn’t exactly looking forward to lugging over one-hundred pounds of teenage boy around but an excuse to be close to Racer was always a good thing, and besides, if it helped keep Race warm and from losing some toes then it’d be well worth it.

“No- Al you don’t need to do that!” Race protested. He couldn’t ask that of Albert, no matter how nice it would be. Okay, now that he was thinking about it he really wanted to be carried by Al. Walking sounded like hell and Al was very pretty and warm. And he had some nice arms, not that Race would ever say that to him, his ego was big enough already.

“Yeah, no chance sweetheart, hop on.” Albert stated as he turned around so Race could get on his back. It’d be easiest to carry him this way even if he would have preferred to have the boy in his arms.

Race would have protested again but he’d already unintentionally talked himself into doing it. Plus he had a soft spot for pet names. “Thanks Al…” Race said quietly.

“Don’t mention it, now c’mon it’s freezing out here and the sooner we get moving the sooner we can warm up.” Race smiled and clambered onto Al’s back and they began their walk back to the lodging house, enjoying each others company and making small talk as they went.

They weren’t far from the lodgings when Race’s head began to loll on Albert’s shoulder, his participation in the conversation having faded nearly ten minutes ago. “Hey Racer, don’t go fallin’ asleep on me, we’re almost there,” Albert nudged the sleeping boy, “Sweetheart you gotta wake up.”

Race shifted, burrowing his head into Albert’s neck, “Yeah, yeah, ‘m awake.” he mumbled. This let Albert feel how cold Race’s skin was, spurring him on to pick up the pace for the last block or so. As he reached the steps of the lodging house, Albert kicked the door awkwardly, not wanting to drop Race. Mush opened the door almost immediately with a smile, happy to see that they were okay. However, once he took in how tired and cold Albert appeared and how Race was being carried the relief turned to worry.

“Oh dear, we need to get you two upstairs and out of those clothes.” Mush fretted as he brushed excess snow off of them. He called out to the boys in the main room that Albert and Race were back as he dragged them up the stairs and into the bedroom. With Mush’s help Albert avoided dropping Race both on the way up and once in the room, gently helping him into Albert’s bunk. Race’s bunk was up top and he didn’t seem too keen on climbing up and no one else seemed inclined to help him.

“Now both of you out of those clothes, I’m going to go get you something dry and hopefully warm.” Mush instructed as he went to search for some spare clothing. That was when Jack made his entrance, having heard Mush's announcement.

“Hey you two, you doin’ alright? We was gettin’ worried.” Jack looked over both of them, eyes narrowing in concern, before moving to assist Race, who was struggling to take his shoes off. They were soaking wet and his fingers were so numb he couldn’t really untie them. “Ya know what, I’ll help Race n’ you just worry about yourself for a minute Albert.”

Albert fumbled a bit and was much slower than usual but was able to remove his outer layers of clothing by the time Mush returned. He was still cold but he hadn’t been out there nearly as long as Race. Mush handed them the dry clothes and an extra blanket he managed to scrounge up.

“I’ve got it from here Mush, why don’t you head downstairs.” Jack phrased it like a suggestion, but it was clearly an order. Mush nodded and left, shooting one last concerned glance over his shoulder. Albert and Race dressed themselves as quickly as they could, Jack helping them both with some of the buttons on their shirts and Race with his socks. “Albert you should lie down too, you were out there for a pretty long time.”

“I’m fine Jack, it’s not that-” Albert’s protest was cut off when Jack sent him a look. “My bed’s already occupied if you couldn’t tell.” Albert tried again, gesturing towards where Race was sitting silently against the wall, struggling to keep his eyes open.

“You think I care? Just get some rest Albert.” Jack said dismissively, leaving the room.

“C’mon Albie just come lie down with me, ‘m still cold.” Race asked once Jack was gone.

“Race, I already said I was fine, I’m gonna go check on some of the boys downstairs.” Albert insisted, walking towards the door.

“Wait, Albie! Please… please stay with me.” Race begged, he didn’t want to be left alone. He wanted Albert to stay, he knew that people didn’t really know about their relationship and that Albert really wanted it to stay that way, but he really wanted to be held and Albert was warm and the other boys knew they were close, it wouldn’t be suspicious for them to cuddle, especially with their current condition, right?

Man, Albert would never be able to say no to those eyes, would he? “Alright Racer, I’ll stay, scoot over.” Albert said softly. Race grinned softly and moved over, pulling back the blankets so Al could get under easier. He immediately curled in the red-head’s side, nuzzling him and resting his head on his chest. Albert wrapped his arms around Race pulling him closer and let himself relax. He could afford to hold his boyfriend for a little bit, lord knows they both needed it.

“Love you Albie.” Racer mumbled into his chest, teetering on the precipice of sleep.

“Love you too, sweetheart.” Albert said as he pressed a kiss to the top of his head. Race drifted to sleep with a smile on his face, for a shitty day this was a pretty good way for it to end.


End file.
